Cover for beet-flumes.



J. R. LEES.

COVER POR BEET PLUMES. APPLIOATIUN FILED PEB.B,1910.

Patented Oct. 1 8, 1910.

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J. R. LEES.

COVER PoR BERT PLUMES.

APPLICATION I'ILBD FEB.B,1910.

Patented Oct. 18, 1910.

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JAMES R. LEES, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR TO THE COLORADO PRESSED STEEL COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

COVER FOR BEET-IELUMES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. LEES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Cover for Beet-Flumcs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in covers for beet tlumes, and the objects of my invention are: iirst: to provide a cover for beet flumes that possesses sulficient strength to support itself and considerable additional weight and that can be constructed cheap enough to enable it to be salable in competition with wooden planks; and second: to provide a cover for beet flumes that can be pressed, stamped, cast or molded out of any suitable material and that can be loosely placed on a beet flume so as to be readily removed therefrom or that can be removably secured to the top portions of the walls of the Hume. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is' a perspective view of a beet flume, showing the application of my improved cover thereto. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a cover embodying one form of my invention. Figs. 3 and 4L illustrate a cover having a triangular arrangement of brace rib. Fig. 5 shows a cover provided with suitably arranged concavo-conveX projections. Fig. 6 shows a cover having projections of various forms and arranged to prevent bending of the plate along longitudinal, transverse and oblique lines. Fig. 7 shows a cover having a separable handle. Figs. 8, 9 and l0 illustrate different forms of cross section of the bracing ribs; and Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view through a beet flume and through the form of cover shown in Fig. 2 on the line 11-11 thereof.

Referring to the drawings: the numeral l designates the floor of a beet flume. 2 designates the sides which with the Hoor may be constructed of concrete, stone or wooden planks. These sides taper outwardly from the floor and are of equal height. A central ridge or projection 3 is formed lengthwise along the top of each wall, and these ridges form inner and outer steps 4 and 5, respectively, on each wall, and the inner steps 4 act as abutments for the opposite ends of the cover 5. These steps or shoulders may be dispensed with, ifA desired, but they co- Speccation of Letters Patent.

Application led February 8, 1910.

Patented Oct. 18, 1910. serial No. 542,763.

operate with my improved cover and with the opposite sluice walls 6 of the llume, which are used to guide the beets into the flume, when one or more of the covers are removed at any point along the length of the flume, as will be fully described hereinafter. The Hume is filled from a convenient place for the beets to be fed either from cars, farm wagons or storage bins, or from all three places. The flume extends to a beet sugar factory, and a body of running water passes through it, and the beets are dumped into the sluices and slide into the water, wherever the covers are removed, and are iioated in the water to the factory, where they are fed in a constant stream into the pulp making machines.

My improved cover preferably consists of a single piece of thin sheet metal of about the thickness of commercial galvanized sheet iron or steel, but, if desired, may be molded in terra cotta, burned clay or other pottery material, wood fiber, or reinforced concrete and allied compositions of Portland and other cements with crushed rock, chemicals and other substances.

My invention contemplates the use of any form or cross section of a cover of thin material that will stand a considerable weight, such possibly as the weight of one or two persons stepping upon it accidentally.

Patent No. 922920 illustratesy a form of cover that possesses the desired strength against transverse weights, but owing to the end flanges 5 being of thin sheet metal and the entire length of the cover being nonsupported longitudinally, it does not possess the saine strength to longitudinal strains as to transverse strains, and is apt to buckle longitudinally along or between any one or two of the longitudinal ribs il at the central portion of the width of the cover. My invention, however, appertains to a cover of any suitable material so formed in outline and in both longitudinal and transverse and oblique sections as to resist reasonable weights applied to it from any direction. To this end I have illustrated several forms of trussed covers that are transversely and obliquely, as Well as longitudinally, trussed against any weight they will be subjected to on a beet iume. The cover consists of a thin rectangular sheet of any suitable material, galvanized iron or steel being preferred, which is stamped or pressed into the desired shape. The opposite end portions of the cover are curved downward, so as to form a natural truss at the opposite ends of the cover, and the covers are provided with -truss ribs or projections, which in cross section may embody any one of the forms A, B or C, shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, respectively.

My invention, as illustrated in Fig. 2, con# sists of a sheet of metal provided with rows of short independent overlapping truss ribs 7 arranged at intervals transversely and which are intersected by longitudinal ribs 8 extending the whole length of the cover. In addition to the longitudinal and transverse ribs, the spaces around the ends of the transversely arranged ribs may be provided with short curved independent truss lugs 8A, of suflicient curvature to thoroughly brace and stiffen the surface between the ribs. This arrangement of integral truss ribs provides a form of independent truss surfaces so arranged that the plate will not rend either longitudinally, transversely or obliquely, thus insuring a cover of ample strength, inL asmuch as it is inherently trussed to resist bending strains from light loads in addition to its weight, in practically all directions.

The arrangement of truss cover shown in Fig. 3 comprises thin sheets of any suitable material, which is ribbed by being folded, pressed, stamped, molded or cast to form adjoining diamond shaped figures 9 and intersecting transverse and longitudinal ribs 10, or, as shown in Fig. 4, ribs forming adjoining squares 11, in which are central circular concavo-convex projections 12, which are intersected by ribs 13, which extend from the corners of the squares. These trussing ribs in the forms of trussed covers, illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4, are arranged to form a plurality of adjoining triangles, but, if desired, the plates may be formed .with a plurality ofcircular concavo-convex projections 14 and 15, as shown in Fig. 5, which are so arranged as to prevent bending of thev plate along longitudinal, transverse or oblique lines, or, as shown in Fig. 6, a variety of forms of projecting lugs 16 may be employed and arranged so as to accomplish the same object as is accomplished by the construction shown in Fig. 5 when the covers are stamped or pressed or drop-hammered out of thin sheet metal, which is the preferred construction, the dies for forming these raised or projecting lugs in the metal need only be of the width of the cover and of a length longitudinally of the cover to stamp one complete cross row of the form of ribs used, but the sheet metal used is so thin', being about of number 20 gage, that the die is preferably made of the entire size of the cover, and the cover may be stamped out by a few downwardly feeding reciprocating strokes of the die. These covers are adapted to be laid loosely side by side along the top of the side walls of the flume, and their side edges are made straight so they will fit close together, but if it is desired to secure them tothe walls of the iiune at any part or point of its length, any simple fastening device may be employed. I preferably use, however, a bolt or lag-screw 17 and a clamping strap 18 mounted loosely on the bolt in a position to be swung over the opposite ends of the cover and then be clamped down against the ends ofthe cover.

If the side walls are made of plank, a

'lag-screw can be screwed into the wood and the strap left loose on it. Then after the cover is placed on the flume the straps are swung around onto the ends ofjthe cover and the lag-screws are screwed down until the stra-ps are Vclamped against the cover. Info-ase the walls are made of concrete,- the bolts are embedded in the top ofl both side walls and the straps are clamped down by nuts yon the bolts. As these covers have to be lifted to one side alo-ng the b eet receiving end of the flume, in order to dump beets into the flume, they must necessarily be provided either with handles that can be readily reached from either side o-f the flume or with apertures or recesses through which the hand may be passed, and while any suitable handle, either formed integral with or attached to thev cover, will answer the purpose, I preferably provide the covers with registering recesses 19 in their edges, as shown by Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which when the coverse are' arranged side by sidel form apertures between their adjoining edges, as will be understood, or each cover may be formed with independent apertures 20, for the` same purpose, as shown by Figsg.,5 and 6., Fig. 'T illustrates detachable handles 21, which are riveted or otherwise secured to the cover. The hand apertures through the cover form Ventilating means to the interior of the flume, which is a desirable feature-,and they are ample for this purpose. My invention presents a cover of great strength that can be pressed out of very th'in metal in a few seconds of time after the dies are once made, and can consequently be sold so cheaply that they are preferred to wood and are in use at the present time on a beet sugarA fiume in this State.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A trussedv cover for beet sugar iumes, comprising a thin plate of any suitable ma# terial provided with integral projecting ribs arranged to truss said cover against transverse, longitudinal and oblique weight strains, and provided with a handle portion for lifting the same;

2. A trussed cover for beet sugar flumes, comprising a thin sheet of metal provided with downwardly curved end portions arranged to form naturally curved trussed end portions and provided with a plurality of short independent overlapping truss ribs formed integrally with the sheet of metal to project from its surface, said truss ribs being arranged transversely and longitudinally in alternate overlapping order, said cover being provided with Ventilating apertures.

3. A trussed cover for beet sugar luines, comprising a thin sheet of any suitable material provided with curved end portions adapted to form truss portions and provided with projecting truss ribs extending in transverse, oblique and longitudinal directions across its surface and arranged to intersect each other, said cover being provided with Ventilating apertures.

4:. rIhe combination of the side walls of a beet flume provided with stepped abutment shoulders on its opposite sides, clamping bolts secured to the top surface portions of said side walls, a clamping strap loosely mounted on said bolts, with a truss curve ended and trussed surface cover of any suitable material arranged to extend across said flume and fit against the abutment shoulders of said ilumes side walls, said clamping straps being arranged to extend over and onto the opposite end portions of said cover and to be clamped against said cover by said bolts to secure said cover to said side walls, said cover being provided with Ventilating apertures that extend through it, and with suitable lifting or handle ortions.

5. In a cover for beet umes, plates provided with corrugations arranged to prevent their being bent along longitudinal, transverse or oblique lines, and with recesses in their edges which register when said plates are laid side by side.

6. The combination with a flume, of plates adapted to rest upon the side walls of said flume, having ribs or corrugations so arranged as to prevent said plates being bent on longitudinal, transverse or oblique lines; bolts in the walls of said flume and straps on said bolts which are adapted to overlie the ends of said plates and be clamped upon said ends by said bolts, said plates being provided with hand receiving recesses.

7. In a device as specied, a plate having downwardly curved ends and recesses in its edges, and truss ribs upon its surface which prevent the plate from being bent along longitudinal, transverse or oblique lines.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES R. LEES.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. J Aoos, H. V. VATERMAN. 

